


A Formidable Foe

by telekinesiskid



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Bullying, Competition, Gen, High School AU, Not brothers, Rivalry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-16 00:04:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3467051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/telekinesiskid/pseuds/telekinesiskid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High School AU in which Hiro and Tadashi (not brothers) are both final year students, competing to get into SFIT's limited entry robotics program. Hiro is willing to do almost anything it takes to get into that program.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Formidable Foe

“Nice work, _Zero_.”

That was Hiro’s cue to duck, but he wasn’t fast enough this time; he still got smacked on the back of his head _hard_ as a couple of older boys passed behind him. Yeah, he probably should’ve done more to cover the glaring A+on his maths test. He shoved the paper underneath his schematics drawing and tried not to get so pointlessly _mad_ as he rubbed at the sore patch where he’d been struck. He was the bigger man, after all. Figuratively speaking anyway.

Still, he couldn’t help but wait until their backs were turned before casting a threatening gaze in their direction. _Zero?_ How inspired.

It was nothing new. This always happened. It was nothing to get upset about, he told himself. They were just jealous of his _massive_ brain. Not that brain size actually had any bearing whatsoever on intelligence – only stupid people believed that. But still. Hiro was the tool-wielding ape amongst a sea of unevolved lifeforms, the slimes that had yet to crawl out of the ocean. At least, that was how he liked to picture himself.

It made him feel at least a little bit better about himself.

“Hey.”

Someone tapped him and Hiro shifted his head over his shoulder to look at them. _Oh God,_ he thought, barely managing to catch himself from rolling his eyes into the back of his head.

There was one slime in his classroom, Hiro supposed, that was a _bit_ more evolved than the others – just on the cusp of sprouting amphibious legs, or something. _Tadashi_ _Hamada_. The boy would’ve undoubtedly been the best and brightest in their year group, if it weren’t for the child prodigy that was _Hiro Hamada_ (unfortunate, wasn’t it? To share the same family name as that ignoramus?)

That dork was leaning out of his chair to Hiro, and _smiling._ Not in a way that was amused to see Hiro get bullied in the broad light of day, but in a way that was genuinely sympathetic _. Reassuring._ It was sickening to look at.

“Forget about them,” Tadashi said, waving off those other guys. “You did great.”

“Don’t patronise me,” Hiro murmured, and he watched Tadashi blink back at him, confused, like that had been the _last_ thing he’d wanted to do.

“I…” Tadashi closed his mouth and shook his head. “I wasn’t trying to be patronising, Hiro, I’m sorry. I just wanted to say, good job.”

Hiro made it clear from his narrowed eyes that he wasn’t going to say anything further to him. So Tadashi awkwardly flipped him a thumb’s up, lowering his head back down to his textbook. Hiro faced the front of the classroom again, huffing quietly. He went back to his drawing.

He hated Tadashi Hamada. But it was all senseless hate, he knew. He hated Tadashi precisely because there was _absolutely nothing_ to hate about him. The guy was as close to perfect as any boy could get. He was what the teachers smiled encouragingly at and termed ‘prosocial popular’. He was everyone’s friend; he said hi in the corridors, he actively volunteered to do even menial things, and he was always so _sickeningly_ polite. Not only that, but he was handsome, and he could throw around a ball without making a fool out of himself (unlike Hiro in Phys-Ed class). He was just a decent, well-rounded guy.

But the thing that Hiro hated most about Tadashi Hamada? He was _smart._ He was smart in a lot of his subjects. Smart enough that Hiro couldn’t help but feel he might have had some competition. So much so that he’d been driven to _hate_ an otherwise perfectly amicable student.

Tadashi laughed behind him, and the sound was just so _grating_ in Hiro’s ears. He peered over his shoulder to see that Tadashi was smiling nervous and modestly accepting praise from his four best friends. They were fawning over the grade on his maths test.

Hiro scoffed, low and derisive under his breath. _Surely_ it couldn’t have been as good as Hiro’s grade.

Hiro craned his neck to have a look. And, when he’d caught sight of the A+ fiercely emblazoned at the top of Tadashi’s test, Hiro wished that he’d just minded his own goddamn business.

He faced the front again, _fuming_ , and started a new drawing. It took a _lot_ of willpower not to draw Tadashi Hamada’s stupid, _happy_ face getting crushed beneath the foot of a battle robot.

It took a lot of willpower indeed.

\-------

In time, Hiro didn’t even have to worry about trying to find a good reason for his unfathomable hatred of Tadashi Hamada. That stupid nerd supplied one for Hiro, all by himself.

Hiro didn’t have many friends, for obvious reasons. Even those of his classmates who _didn’t_ want to punch him in the face didn’t end up hanging around him for too long, so he nearly always sat alone for lunch. It was a nice, warm day; he’d just finished the Bento his aunt had made for him, and he didn’t feel like returning to the library just yet.

He’d later wish that he had just gone back inside, when he still had the chance.

Hiro’s content, relaxed features creased into a scowl as he spotted Tadashi. He was smiling at Hiro from a distance, clearly walking over to say hi and have a friendly chat, as he often did with his peers. Too often, in Hiro’s opinion.

“Hey Hiro.”

“Hamada,” Hiro greeted coldly.

Tadashi took a seat beside him on the thick stone wall he was perched upon, and Hiro tried to look like he couldn’t have cared less what he was doing there. Tadashi offered up an opened packet of candy, and Hiro _wanted_ to refuse it, on principle, but he simply couldn’t resist gummy bears. Even if they were from the hands of his unrequited nemesis. He’d just have to take way too much than was being politely offered to him – to teach Tadashi an important lesson about _sharing_ and _being nice to others._

Tadashi barely reacted. He happily let Hiro consume well over half the bag, right before his very eyes. _What a weirdo,_ Hiro thought.

They sat in silence for over a minute, just munching on gummy sweets and staring at nothing. It was awkward. It made Hiro want to take out his phone and do something with it, but the second he did, Tadashi started to talk.

“You want to go to SFIT next year, right?”

Hiro didn’t turn to face him, but he still raised an eyebrow all the same. “Yeah.”

“They’ve got a _really_ great robotics program there.”

“Yeah, they do.” Hiro was suspicious. He didn’t know why Tadashi was saying all of this.

“…You really like robots, huh,” Tadashi said, and it wasn’t a question at all. Of course it wasn’t. Anyone who’d ever crossed paths with Hiro knew that he had an almost unhealthy obsession with robots. He had robot t-shirts, robot keychains, robot stationery, robot comics, robot _everything._ It was hard for his classmates to look at Hiro without being painfully reminded every few seconds that he _really liked_ robots. He even had a little fighting robot he’d built sitting next to him right then. He’d named him Takeo. 

Hiro shrugged. “Robots are OK.”

Tadashi paused for a long moment before _laughing_ , and Hiro had to fight back a smile himself.

“You know, I really like robots too,” Tadashi said. “Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted to build things. I was always coming up with all these inventions and ideas. I wanted to make robots that would… I don’t know. Drastically improve society. Make life easier. Help people.”

Hiro could feel Tadashi turn his head towards him, almost expectantly. Like he was waiting to hear just how Hiro had come to love robots more than life itself. So Hiro answered bluntly, “I like battle bots.”

“What, like… bot fighting?”

Hiro hummed a yes.

Tadashi laughed a little. “Well… I’m sure you’d be really great at it.”

 _Thanks I am,_ Hiro wanted to say, but he refrained. His hobbies weren’t exactly _illegal,_ but they were dubious at best.

“So, um…” Tadashi was definitely facing him now, but Hiro still refused to. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that… I really want to get into that robotics program next year,” he said, and Hiro felt his body turn cold. Tadashi’s voice lowered, like saying it any _quieter_ would make it any less devastating to hear. “You heard about their recent admission policy, right? They’re only going to take the–“

“Yeah, I heard,” Hiro sniped, and that had shut Tadashi right up. “They’re only taking the top graduates from select San Fransokyo high schools. Our school has a guaranteed position for only one student. The person with the highest GPA.”

“Yeah,” Tadashi murmured regretfully, and Hiro _wished_ that this guy could just get mean and crabby for once in his life. This was his _future_ he was talking about. “I’m studying really hard now. I’m going to a cram school and everything. It’s difficult and it’s tiring, but… I would _really_ like to get in next year, so… I’ve got to really raise my GPA.”

“So do I.”

Hiro faced him then. He’d been hoping to wear the expression of a most formidable foe, to show Tadashi down with a look of _pure_ intimidation and make him tremble.

But Tadashi just smiled, like it was all so _fun._ “So, uh… May the best guy win?”

Tadashi stuck out his hand to shake and Hiro stared at it like it offended him. His eyes flickered back up to Tadashi’s, glaring with such a dark intensity that it made the older Hamada’s smile falter.

“I _will_ win,” Hiro promised angrily. He didn’t shake the hand. He battered it aside, jumping down off the wall and throwing the empty packet of gummy bears back at Tadashi.

“Hiro, I’m sorry – Hiro – that was a joke,” Tadashi cried after him, almost pleading as Hiro started to walk away. “I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be your rival.”

“Tough break, Hamada,” Hiro called over his shoulder, stomping away. “You _are_ my rival.”


End file.
